Heather Harper MBE is a former Bahrain resident who was a pioneer in the Gulf region’s broadcast media industry and one of the founding presenters of Bahrain 55 TV in the early 1980s.
She is currently Chairman of the Bahrain Society in the UK, part of a family-owned energy company with origins in Bahrain and is an active volunteer for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. She worked across the political divide in order to win the right of all long-term expatriates to vote in UK general elections – granting the largest electoral enfranchisement increase since women got the vote in 1928.
We asked her to share her thoughts on why and how she decided to get involved in political party volunteering.
When the General Election is over, hundreds of thousands of Party volunteers across the UK will be able to take a bit of time off for themselves to recover from their voluntary work; there will be celebration, disappointment, satisfaction, discontent and other emotions.
During an election, the local volunteers usually start by being asked to help stuff envelopes or deliver leaflets or letters throughout their community, challenging awkward letter boxes oft with a dog barking furiously the other side (a tip is to take a wooden spatula with you to poke the flyer through to protect your fingers!). You may be asked to knock on people’s doors and canvass or to hold events to raise much needed funds to campaign for the chosen candidate.
It is quite extraordinary seeing the way people of all political persuasions get into gear and up their ante of engagement on the voluntary level when deadlines and goals are set. First the anticipation and then the initial excitement when an election is called, not to mention learning the different sets of rules one has to follow during the election period.
The countless asks of friends and family who have to put up with your somewhat manic timetables especially in a short election. There may be local hustings to help organise and daily candidate support. There is though usually great camaraderie at the meet ups after an exhausting delivery day. Then after this 24/7 run up to election there is the actual election day with volunteers manning polling stations and quickly setting up campaign HQs to get the vote out.
Volunteering for the Conservative Party began with a knock on the door shortly after I returned from living in Bahrain. A smiling gentleman said, “Good morning, I’m one of your local councillors and wondered if you would like to get involved and join the local branch of our Conservative Association.” This was closely followed by “Could we hold an event at your home?” and “Would you join the committee?”. Being sociable, I agreed to all and… well, the rest is history and that was over thirty volunteering years ago.
I have since then volunteered my way from the grass routes through countless local and General Elections holding numerous positions on Branch, Women’s group, Association committees and as Constituency Chairman of Beaconsfield. Today, I am Chairman of Conservatives Abroad, a network of volunteer support throughout the world where campaigning is obviously different to the UK as delivered largely through social media.
The Conservative Party had long been supportive of its overseas citizens and inspired me to get the bit between my teeth and lobby the politicians hard to scrap the 15-year rule of disenfranchisement. ‘Votes for Life’ was delivered in January this year in the Elections Bill 2022 giving all British citizens living overseas their right to vote in UK elections.
Conservatives Abroad volunteers also successfully campaigned to appoint a dedicated Minister to champion the specific issues of Britons living overseas which is in the Conservative Party manifesto.
Volunteering for me has covered a wide spectrum of interests including the Richings Players, Thames Valley Police, Crimestoppers, the Residents Associations, DrugFam, St.Peters and St Leonards church which have brought me into contact with so many volunteers that have truly enriched life in our community.
Many ask: “Why do you do this volunteering?”. It’s the belief in helping make the community better for all.
